Dan’s Taste of Two Forks Countdown: Eric Miller of Madison & Main

July 12, 2013 by Lee Meyer

The third annual Dan’s Taste of Two Forks is almost here! As we count down to the ultimate food and wine event in the Hamptons, Chef Eric Miller of Madison & Main in Sag Harbor talks about the his love of local, the passion true chefs share, the big 40th anniversary of Long Island Wine Country and more.

What are you looking forward to at this year’s Dan’s Taste of Two Forks?

To showcase the local shellfish. Most important is that people understand what’s going on here in terms of fish. All the mussels cultivated in Montauk and clams cultivated in the Great South Bay. And all our dishes are going to be local vegetables, stuff like that. To showcase the bounty of the Peconic Bay basin. That’s my catch.

Describe your relationship with food in three words…

Respectful, fresh and I like to know where it comes from.

What is one of the most aspects of being a chef?

My personal feeling is the people who know how to take care of the raw product. People who have respect for the product and where it comes from.

Long Island Wine Country is celebrating 40 years this summer—what would you say in a toast to LI Wine?

It’s an extension of the bounty of this part of the country that’s finally come to be equal to that of all parts of the world.

The perfect drink for a summer night…

We’ve been doing a lot of stuff with watermelon, stuff with watermelon. Like a watermelon mint martini. That’s something we do at Mad and Main on a nightly basis. We’ve been doing the same thing with Babinsky’s strawberries.

A food that defines summer on Long Island…

For me it’s always the local shellfish. I was TV last week and I brought a seabass with me that was swimming that morning.

If you had two forks in your hands right now, what would you like to stick them in?

One would be in a piece of chocolate cake. Ask my wife about that one. And the other would go into a soft shell crab. Those are my two favorite things.

The world ends tomorrow. Your last meal would be…

My last meal… I would probably have to say it would be some sort of a steak of some sort. Dry aged for 28 days. I always like a nice steak. But I should say fish of any sort!

What is your culinary guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is a cheeseburger. A GOOD cheeseburger. Carmel onions… some special concoction of a sauce. Always works for me. Usually eat one at the end of every shift.